The Clean Boardroom: An alternative perspective on Chinese corruption and bribery in Kenya

“I am not a racist but…” Mrs. Zhang (pseudonym) begins smilingly. She is addressing me specifically, staring right at my nose. Still, I miss the end of the sentence. I am busy thinking to myself: has anyone ever started a statement that way and finished it gracefully?

If anyone could, it might be Zhang. I like her immediately. She is in her mid-forties, I am told. I would have guessed she is a decade younger. She runs a travel agency and energetically ushers my two colleagues and me into a clean, white boardroom.

I take in the room. A stark, unadorned contrast to the makeshift construction site offices where I often conduct my interviews, their dirt-covered walls collaged with attendance sheets and architecture floor plans. This is almost sterile in comparison. The blank walls shine in the wooden reflection of a large ovular table. A leafy green plant occupies a corner of the room.

We are here trying to make sense of tax-related issues facing Chinese residents in Kenya. She indulges us, explaining – without malice – her difficulties: “It does not matter how clean the records, how carefully they are maintained. When the revenue authority comes to investigate, they will always find a maobing”—a flaw. From Zhang’s perspective, the turbid tax regulations allow wiggle room for opportunistic officers. There is little to be done but pay up, she declares, still smiling.

Are You a Chinese?

By Zander Rounds

“Are you a Chinese?”

After years in China, ineffectually trying to blur my gangly American edges and blend in, this is one question that I never really imagined I would receive.

And yet, on more than a few occasions since my arrival in Kenya a couple of weeks ago*, Kenyans have curiously posed precisely that: “Are you a Chinese?” Or the other day, while chatting with a Chinese colleague, our Kenyan waiter returned my change, looked me in the eye and un-ironically pronounced, “Xie xie” [Mandarin for ‘thank you’].

Admittedly, it’s the crew that I am now running with. China House (中南屋), a Nairobi-based collective of young Chinese movers and shakers, housed under a common vision of flourishing through collaboration and connection between Chinese and Africans. I am the newest (and most American) member of a team working to integrate two worlds that occupy the same physical universe yet are still often separate: the Kenyan community and the Chinese community residing in Kenya.

Translation Tuesday: Great love engraved on a blue helmet: Peace-keeping Hero Jiang Hangang

By Zander Rounds

Author: Feng Chunmei
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 12/3/10
Source: China Daily
Original text (in Chinese): http://military.people.com.cn/GB/1076/84133/13385548.html

Jiang Hangang (third from left) with leadership team
members inspecting equipment (Zhu Min, Xinhua) 

In a country of peace and prosperity, why does the hero embark on journeys? To uphold peace.

On April 18, 2008, Jiang Hangang, Party Secretary, Military Engineer Platoon Captain of China’s seventh dispatch of peacekeepers to Liberia, and Regiment commander of Beijing Collective Military Engineering Corps, was in charge of 274 soldiers preparing to set off.

Translation Tuesday: The Wedding of a Post-90’s Pair of Workers in Africa

By Zander Rounds

Author: Sun Rui, Bo She
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 5/4/15
Source: Xinhua
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2015-05/04/c_127760578.htm

On May 2, near the eighth section of Nairobi, Kenya’s Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, workers dressed in the clothing of the Masai people delivered their blessings to Post-90’s newlyweds Mu Xuqiang and Li Zhiyuan.

That same day, those in the China Luqiao Engineering LLC Mombasa-Nairobi’s Project Eight camp bore witness as a pair of worker based in central Kenya became happily united in matrimony. Mu Xuqiang, the groom, is inherited the family business. In 2012, the Beijing youngster took root in Africa. Li Zhiyuan, the bride, formerly studied abroad in England. In 2014, the Inner Mongolian girl rushed to Africa. They met and got to know each other while working on the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, eventually deciding to enter into marriage. At the wedding ceremony, two Kenyan girls wearing white dresses stood behind the beautiful bride, lifting the massive wedding dress tail with small hands and revealing pure smiles. The local male workers were draped in red-checkered cloth and grasped long sticks, evoking the spirit of Masai warriors. Female workers wore short, exquisite red dresses and earrings, as if characters from a painting

Translation Tuesday: A Guangzhou Enterprise Receives a 100 million RMB Injection from CAD

By Zander Rounds

Author: N/A
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 4/15/15
Source: Nanfang Daily
Original text (in Chinese): http://epaper.southcn.com/nfdaily/html/2015-04/15/content_7418313.htm

A recent multi-million dollar cooperative agreement between the China Africa Development Fund and Choice Investment LLC makes Choice the “first private enterprise in Guangzhou to receive support from a national foundation”, demonstrating the diverse and dynamic landscape of Chinese economic engagement with African countries.

Translation Tuesday: No Africans allowed? Suspicions about Chinese restaurant discrimination in Kenya provoke widespread anger

By Zander Rounds

Author: Yingying
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 3/25/15
Source: Sohu News
Original text (in Chinese): http://star.news.sohu.com/20150325/n410267717.shtml?qq-pf-to=pcqq.group

A recent scandal involving a Chinese restaurant in Kenya that barred locals after dark made international headlines, revealing tensions surrounding Chinese businesses practices in Africa. Yingying, a Chinese entrepreneur working in the continent, draws on a large survey of ethnic Chinese opinions in Africa to illuminate why the restaurant did what it did, wrong as it was.
---- Zander Rounds

On March 23, the most influential newspaper in Nairobi, Kenya published on its front page a story titled, “Restaurant: Sorry, No Africans, we don’t trust them after dark.” This attracted the attention of ethnic Chinese from all walks of life within Kenyan, and even those in other African countries.

Also on March 23, the author’s Quan Fei Gou [全非购] media platform published an article called, “The lead story in Kenya’s biggest newspaper reports on an incident where some Chinese restaurants bar locals at night; Chinese people, what do you think,” and conducted a survey. Based on the 312 received results, ethnic Chinese in Africa think, first of all, that this practice is painfully embarrassing, and subsequently, that this incident could have been a little more tactfully mediated. They also think that locals should be allowed to dine at night. To resolve public security concerns, restaurants can strengthen security practices. At the same time, the respondents commonly considered Kenyan’s commentary and media coverage of the incident too extreme.

Translation Tuesday: Gansu Television Program Daguo Wenhua Demonstrates the “International Style” of an African Brother

By Zander Rounds

Author: N/A

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 3/2/15
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/ent/2015-03/12/c_127573948.htm

It might not be so uncommon to see a foreigner that speaks Mandarin fluently. But its not every day that you see a foreigner who comfortably “plays” with Chinese national culture! Just a few days ago, the Gansu television program Daguo Wenhua [The Culture of a Great Nation] invited an African brother who is well-versed in Chinese national culture. As soon as Jiege, a Cameroonian, entered the stage during the last program, he attracted the attention of the entire audience. While his dark skin and authentic Mandarin was enough to stun Internet users, his self-introduction – delivered in Chinese opera form – even inspired Old Gu’s repeated praise.

Translation Tuesday: The Chinese in Africa long to “celebrate New Year like migratory birds”

By Zander Rounds

Author: Song Fangcan

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 2/24/15
Source: China News Service
Original text (in Chinese): http://www.chinanews.com/hr/2015/02-24/7075435.shtml

What is it like for the Chinese living and working in Africa? This article about China’s “migratory birds” – the people that return home from abroad every holiday season – provides some insight into what it is like being abroad during the holidays.
---- Zander Rounds (Translator) 

During a skit from the Year of the Goat Spring Festival Gala that took place on New Year’s Eve, a lonely father (Played by Pan Changjiang) morosely passes the time in an empty car. After a “serendipitous meeting” at a train station he receives a call from his son saying that he has already returned from Africa to celebrate the New Year. Viewers are moved as this previously unattainable dream of reunion becomes a happy reality. Although this is only an art piece, now returning to China has undeniably become a common practice for Africa’s Chinese people.

“The most remote distance in the world is when you are in China but I am in Africa.” Someone posted this sorrowful message. However, along with developments in communication technology and as transportation methods become more convenient and individual purchasing power increases, more and more overseas Chinese in Africa return to China (their ancestral home) to celebrate the New Year. This is no longer an unattainable dream. During this traditional festival more and more people embark on this homeward-bound, “migratory bird-like” journey to celebrate the holiday.

Translation Tuesday: When stones strike the People’s Liberation Army in Mali until blood flows, they brandish bayonets in a show of force

By Zander Rounds

Author: Qi Zhongxi, Fan Xi, Liu Shiping, Su Xiaozhou, Chu Xiaoliang, Yang Jian, Wu Hao

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 2/2/15
Source: Huanqiu.com
Original text (in Chinese): http://mil.huanqiu.com/china/2015-02/5569330.html

“It is our great honor to be able to receive your protection” – They bear the brunt as danger approaches

As far as guard unit soldier Wang Zhangjun can recall, “5/19” marks the single most thrilling day of the entire peacekeeping period.

The 170 soldiers that constitute the “guard” unit are the first security unit that China dispatched for the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Their primary responsibility was the defense of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)’s East Warzone Headquarters and peacekeeper barracks. When danger approached, they bore the brunt from the frontline.

Translation Tuesday: Africa: You Probably Have a Number of Misconceptions about It

By Zander Rounds

Author: Kong Shuyao
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 12/21/2014

Source: Chengdu Business News
Original Text (in Chinese): http://e.chengdu.cn/page/1/2014-12/21/09/2014122109_pdf.pdf

Addressing common misconceptions about Africa, Kong Shuyao draws on personal experience living in Lagos and engaging with locals, adding depth and nuance to conversations about Africa. While this piece was written for a Chinese audience, it may be equally applicable to other parts of the world. 
----Zander Rounds (Translator)

“Look West, Look East” [a regular section for Chengdu Business News] authors have written about many places around the world. One day Kong Shuyao, someone who works in Africa, suddenly raised the question: where is Lagos? Where is Nigeria? We quickly got on the Internet to look it up. We had not considered that, as Kong Shuyao bluntly stated, no matter if you are using Google or Baidu, the information that you get when you search is either biased or outdated.

Lagos is Africa’s biggest city—that's right, surpassing Egypt’s Cairo and South Africa’s Johannesburg. Think for a second: Nigeria’s Lagos is equivalent to America’s New York, Europe’s Paris, Asia’s Tokyo. However, except for soccer and the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus, we seem to be not familiar with it at all.

Translation Tuesday: Guangzhou’s Public Security Bureau: Issues of Africans in Guangzhou are made to be bigger than they actually are; the crime rate of foreigners is not in fact high

By Zander Rounds

The following article is an attempt to mediate some of misunderstandings about Africans among many of the Chinese people, probably to alleviate some of the tensions that have arisen as a result. The timing of this article is notable, as it was released back when the police in Guangzhou were beginning to crack down on foreigners.
----Zander Rounds (Translator)

Africans are fond of living together; their number is not as many as imagined

There are 118,000 foreigners in Guangzhou, of which 16,000 are Africans. The crime rate of foreigners is not actually as high as city residents imagined… A few days ago, during an exclusive interview with Yangcheng Evening Paper, the Public Security of Exit-Entry Administrative Service Bureau of Guangzhou revealed the following information:

Translation Tuesday: Is China’s ideological influence in Africa good?

By Zander Rounds

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 11/21/2014

Author: Tang Xiaoyang
Source: Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy
Original event: http://carnegietsinghua.org/2014/11/21/china-africa-economic-cooperation-in-global-context/hu5w

The following Mandarin-language exchange between Tang Xiaoyang, a scholar of Africa-China economic relations, and an African audience member, occurred during the question and answer segment of "China-Africa Economic Cooperation in a Global Context," which hosted by the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing. Substantively, Tang’s response to this question about China’s ideological influence in Africa is quite interesting. Note, for instance, that while the audience member frames his question in terms of the role of China as an influential external actor, Tang responds by shifting the focus entirely to the critical role of locals in “accepting” different ways of thinking. Also interesting are the strong liberal undertones of his advice for how nations should respond to globalization.
--- Zander Rounds (Translator)

Audience member:

Speaking as an African person, previously we had African ideas and then, due to the issue of colonialism, Western ideas came over and influenced us. Now, Chinese people are doing a lot for us, and as they do they also bring Chinese ideas. For example, when a Chinese leader says “its like this” then its just “like this” [meaning, he or she is not questioned]. Africa already has problems with democracy. And as a result of a number of important factors, our development has lagged behind. 

Do you think China’s ideological influence on Africa is positive? What are the benefits and harms that Chinese ways of thinking present for Africa’s development?

Tang Xiaoyang:

Do Chinese ways of thinking have a positive or negative influence in Africa? In fact, I think the ways of thinking that can actually be accepted are all those that Africans [already] can understand; and as such, the ways of thinking that produce results are all actually African’s own ways of thinking.

Translation Tuesday: China’s assistance to Africa is both “Brotherly Loyalty” and an international responsibility

By Zander Rounds

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 10/27/2014

Author: Zhou Fei
Source: Huanqiu.com
Original text (in Chinese): http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-10/5180243.html

Based on years of conversations with friends, classmates and outspoken taxi drivers in China, it is clear that international aid is a bit of a hard sell here. In following article, the author Zhou Fei directly addresses a common criticism of international assistance: namely, if we still have so many domestic problems, why should we be sending money to far away places? In response, Zhou draws on both realist and constructivist logic: China must provide assistance due to both realist calculations of self-interest (helping others in order to help us) and the normative imperatives of brotherly loyalty and international responsibility. (In my opinion, the mixing of these weakens his argumentation). As China’s role in the world evolves, it is important to track how it presents itself not just to the outside world (here is a link to a piece by the same author on a similar subject) but to a domestic audience.

--- Zander Rounds (Translator)

Helping ourselves by helping Africa

Over the past few months, China has urgently assisted African countries battle Ebola through a series of efforts, including shipping supplies, dispatched experts and building labs. In doing so, China has become the world’s “forerunner” in fighting the disease, winning a bunch of praise in Africa and internationally.

Domestically, some people do not quite understand China’s African assistance policies: “The Guangzhou Dengue fever is still wreaking havoc, why are we running far away to go help Africa?” While this type of thinking may seem reasonable, it in fact is incomplete. Limited Epidemics have no borders—during this round of the Ebola’s violent “terrorist attack”, any one country would have difficulty protecting itself. The appearance of those afflicted by the disease in America and Spain are a testament to this.

Ask not what Africa can do for you, but what you can do for Africa

Former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa was recently at Zhejiang Normal University’s Institute of African Studies and the China-Africa Business College. He delivered a lecture, titled “Unscrambling Africa in the New Millennium,” that was attended by an American Fullbright scholar Zander Rounds. Rounds wrote about that speech on his blog "Bridging the Great Wall: A research blog on African students in China" and we found his analysis fascinating and asked him to share his experiences.

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Ask not what foreign nations are doing for Africa... by Zander Rounds

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Ask not what foreign nations are doing for Africa…

By Zander Rounds, Fulbright Scholar, Zhejiang Normal University

 …but what Africa is doing for foreign nations: Tanzanian President Mkapa on the future of Africa’s relations with the world

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a lecture by former President of Tanzinia, Benjamin Mkapa, hosted by Zhejiang Normal University’s Institute of African Studies and the China-Africa Business College. President Mkapa delivered his speech, titled “Unscrambling Africa in the New Millennium” (在新千年实现非洲的自主发展), to a large conference room packed full with African and Chinese students, professors and perhaps three Americans (myself included).